Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.Charles Eames

Design has been the driving force in the upward trend of visual marketing online. Pinterest led the way with artfully crafted boards of imagery that left consumers wanting more. Brands quickly capitalized on the popularity of this social network by getting involved with captivating photos to lead users back to their website for purchase. While Pinterest continues to sustain its status in the social media realm, it has prompted a new social shopping platform to emerge that is a compilation of visually appealing design paired with exclusive discounts.

Similar to other daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social, this new brand of social ecommerce portal offers a visual layout that tells a story and prompts a response. But unlike the aforementioned sites, they present the ability to discover unique brands (and some well known brands) at a discounted price, but most importantly, many times without ever leaving the site.

Fab.com, launched by former founder and socialmedian CEO, Jason Goldberg, is entirely focused on design. From the layout of the website to the elements of design for the products sold, Fab is the convergence of intention and visual marketing. Unique goods play a pivotal role and social influence helps secure publicity.

The Fancy, which is part wish list, magazine and store, allows brands to showcase their products and users to Fancy their favorite products from around the web. One additional feature that The Fancy offers is gamification. Members can earn promotions by achieving benchmarks on the site, much like Foursquare. There is also the ability to unlock deals as well by favoriting items from participating brands.

Social sharing is the obvious pinnacle for both sites, which extends reach and increasing connections and sales on a daily basis. Being mobile-friendly is an obvious quality that makes both Fab and The Fancy stand out, enabling members to continue utilizing both sites at home or on the go.

2013 will see more social shopping sites focusing on design and visualization as their key strategy for marketing. Do you agree? Leave a comment and let us know!